Many handheld electronic devices incorporate a keypad, either via a software screen display or a physical electronic keyboard, to facilitate user entry of text. Various software applications make use of the text entry such as email, short-message-service, word processors etc. Many of the various applications comprise a dictionary, or a combination of a dictionary and thesaurus, which may automatically correct spelling and typographical errors and suggest corrections for spelling as well as grammar. Additionally such dictionaries typically provide word completion suggestions based on the first one or more characters entered, which saves the user keystrokes by allowing selection of a suggested word.
A software dictionary or thesaurus will generally have a default setting based on a preferred language of the handheld device user. More particularly, an operating system software will provide default settings such as language, in which the selected language setting also controls selection of an appropriate dictionary.
For example, if a user prefers English, and has selected English as a default language, then any application employing text entry, such as email, will automatically make use of an English language dictionary or thesaurus to check spelling or grammar of subsequent text entries and may also provide suggested word completion.
In today's global society however, many users communicate in several languages and also wish to compose email or other forms of text using a variety of languages. If the user wishes to compose text using a language other than the default language, the user must manually change either the default settings, or the specific dictionary or thesaurus selection in order to have spell check or grammar check capability and word completion suggestions. For mobile devices this is somewhat of an inconvenience.
Therefore a need exists for an apparatus and method which may select an appropriate dictionary without the need for user intervention or changing of default settings.